Thursday, May 26, 2011

I'm not sure which surprises me more; that the Blob is still wearing his Jerry Lawler style wrestling trunks or that some politically correct nitwit hasn't formally petitioned Marvel to remove the character entirely for being offensive to the morbidly obese. If the latter has actually happened, I'm a little less confident in the future of humanity.

Still, this is how I imagine a fight between the big fella and Nightcrawler would go.

Monday, May 23, 2011

I confess, I watched this great film when I was about 8 or 9, and was bored to tears. Luckily, age has replaced boredom with fascination and an appreciation for the art and scope of Stanley Kubrick's masterpiece, long though it may be. So, enjoy.

Side note: I have never, in my life, spelt odyssey correctly without looking it up. If I have spelled it wrong this time, kindly go to hell before informing me of it.

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

While I'm certain I'm in the minority here, this is probably my favorite of Kubrick's films, and boasts possibly my favorite piece of dialog in any film anywhere: "Gentlemen! You can't fight in here, this is the War Room!".

Someone suggested I draw Dr. Strange sometime this week. In my own way, I feel I have fulfilled said request.

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Plain and simple, Gil Elvgren taught me how to draw women, and this particular Veronica Lake-ish painting is probably my favorite. I've been such a huge fan of Gil Elvgren for a long time, and get ever so slightly riled up the more I hear people prattle on about Norman Rockwell. Let me be clear, every bit of the praise heaped on Rockwell is unequivocally deserved and I own volumes of his work. Its human nature I suppose to pick out the best of a crop or era, but also unfair, especially to an artist as talented as Gil Elvgren was. Certainly, the two have different styles, but they were different classes of art as well and I suppose that accounts for some of the reason he's overlooked so casually.

Its hard to imagine a life consisting mostly of hiring women as stunning as Elvgren had to stand in various stages of undress for hours and hours and hours, but he did it, and my hat is off to him.

Bottom line here, if you're an aspiring comic artist or have any problems drawing the ladies: Find a book of Elvgren paintings (preferably one with "behind the scenes" photographs and sketches. Buy it. Study it until the covers fall off.

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

I rarely find any of the mainstream super-heroines that engrossing, but the exception of Bruce Timm's Supergirl is drawing a character that genuinely looks as if she's enjoying using her abilities, something few creators ever injected into Superman (a trait I miss).